Hello Ladies,

Over the course of ten years, I went from being petite and thin without a curve in sight to above average height and plus-size with too many curves to count, and I experienced both sides of the body snark coin.  When I hit my highest weight, I started to experience health problems—problems that resonated with me as I had watched my grandparents struggle with a reduced quality of life due to complications from their weight.  I knew I had to change not only how I felt about myself but also how I approached my lifestyle.

My first decision was to stop wearing sweats and baggy tee shirts and actually buy nice clothes that fit me.  Grudgingly, I headed to the mall and purchased a small wardrobe that fit and flattered my new figure.  Next stop was the salon for a new haircut and then the beauty counter for some makeup.  If I was going to be stuck in this body for awhile, I was determined to make the most of it.

Then something unexpected happened.

I didn’t fear the mirror anymore. I was still unhappy with my weight, but I was dressing my body to make the most of my best features. Already people asked if I was on the winning side of the Battle of the Bulge, and my battered self-esteem was recovering from the onslaught that had been inflicted upon it. The need to lose the weight became less immediate, and crash dieting gave way to making healthier, longer-lasting choices.

Instead of drastically overhauling my diet and exercise plan, I resolved to make slow changes that I could build upon over the coming months, and I set a goal range of 160-165 pounds because I had an easier time maintaining this weight in the past:

My first step was analyzing my bad habits and determining how to transition them into healthy ones.  Ultimately, I compiled a list that looked something like this:

1. Cut out soda and sugary fruit juices and replace with water or hot tea.
2. Reduce sweets and fatty foods and substitute with whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
3. Eat three meals a day and reduce snacking, but if a snack is needed, eat fruit, nuts, or veggies.
4. Exercise at least five times a week including a mix of cardio and resistance training.

At first glance, this seems exactly like the kind of all-at-once method that had failed me so many times in the past.  My twist is that I deconstructed each goal into smaller, more manageable changes.  Because I hated the taste of water, I decided drinking more of it would be my first challenge.  To combat this, I would gulp down 8oz of ice cold water before breakfast, and after dinner, I’d enjoy a cup of tea sweetened with agave or stevia.  Then I bumped up to two cups of tea per day, then a glass of water before lunch, then water with one meal, and so on.  Over several months, I had naturally cut out all the other cold drinks I would usually sip on throughout the day and replaced them with a refreshing glass of H2O.  Now?  I can’t get enough of water!  It’s the only thing I drink outside of hot tea and my morning coffee.  Nevertheless, this positive change would never have worked if I tried to do it all at once.

The other goals followed in the same way.  Exercise, in particular, was somewhat challenging at first until I discovered how much I enjoyed walking and watching Sex & the City.  A couple times a week, I’d walk for twenty minutes and follow it up with a series of exercise that could be done during an episode of S&TC.  Many of the women I know trying to lose weight struggle with exercise the most, and for me, success hinged upon finding activities that fit into my schedule and I enjoyed.  If you hate walking on the treadmill or despise exercise videos, then you’re setting yourself up for failure if you rely on them to lose weight.  Walking has stayed with me throughout the weight loss and maintenance process because it offers me time to think and relax, and for similar reasons, I’ve really enjoyed  yoga and pilates.

Finally, the plan paid off, and I achieved a victory: the number on the scale decreased. Within six months of starting my gradual changes plan, I lost thirty pounds. My cheekbones were making an appearance again, and I was back in my size 12s. Stressing about my body was something I did infrequently, and I even started to feel (dare I say it?) sexy and desirable.

Around 180 pounds, I hit a plateau where I stayed for another six months.  I never regained any of the pounds I lost, but my weight hadn’t decreased either.  Since I was still twenty pounds from my goal weight, I researched what could be done to overcome a plateau in weight loss.  Ultimately, I realized that despite improving my eating habits, I was consuming most of my daily calories closer to bedtime when I had less of an opportunity to burn them off before they were stored as fat.  I instituted a three hour cut off time for eating before my bedtime, and I also started moving more during the day.  My previous job as a computer programmer meant long hours chained to a desk, and these lulls in activity would create a sluggish metabolism even with the exercises I did almost daily.  To jumpstart my body’s fat burning abilities, I set an egg timer for 45 minutes so I could stretch or walk around a few minutes every hour.

Fifteen more pounds were gone from the scale in about four months just in time for Christmas.  By February, I was at my goal weight of 160 pounds and started buying clothes in a size 10—which felt like a “Perfect Ten” to me after years of wearing a size 12+.  Without even trying, the gradual changes plan resulted in another ten pound loss by the end of April, dropping me to a size 6/8.

Aside from the normal challenges of the holiday season (I always gain about five pounds between mid-November and the first of January), I maintained the weight for over two years.  When I opened my store, I dropped another five pounds, and I’ve maintained that weight for almost a year now.  However, the weight is only one component of the changes I made.  My blood glucose levels dropped to normal again, and my blood pressure is fantastic.  My energy levels have soared, and I’ve found that my skin and hair look better without all the sugary and fatty foods.  The biggest shock to me was how little I crave sweets now.  Occasionally, I’ll have desert, but I feel no need to go back for seconds or to indulge everyday or even every week.  I still have a wicked French fry craving (especially if they are smothered in cheese and bacon), but I’ve learned to indulge less frequently.

What breaks my heart reading the blogs and stories of other women struggling with their weight is that I know how it feels to wish the weight would magically disappear overnight, but I also know that’s all it is:  a wish.  Losing weight takes hard work, but it also takes time—sometimes more than you care to give.  If someone had told me it would take 18 months to lose 60 pounds, I would have kept switching from diet to diet, each one promising a 25 pound loss in six or eight weeks.  I would still be overweight too.

It wasn’t until I stopped setting goals of two pounds this week or six pounds by summer and focused on what was healthy that any of the weight melted away.  Be patient but more importantly stop beating yourself up and realize you are beautiful the way you are now. 

Erica